MINIMUM WAGES TO CHILD LABOUR
The Minimum Wages Act,
1948 provides for fixation of different rate of minimum wages
for adults, adolescents, children and apprentices. Since this
tends to encourage engagement of child labour, the Government
has been exploring deletion of the relevant section of the Act.
In the proposed integrated draft Law on Wages based on the recommendation
of the Second National Commission on Labour, there is no mention
of different rates of minimum wages for children. However, given
the steps and procedures involved, it is not possible to specify
any time frame for finalisation of the proposals.
In pursuance
of the statutory provisions of the Act, the enforcement is secured
through the enforcement machinery both in the Central and the
State spheres. The officers of these machineries appointed as
Inspectors under the Act, conduct regular inspections and advise
the employers to implement provisions of the Act whenever they
come across any violation like non-payment or less payment of
minimum wages, non-adherence to the number of hours constituting
a normal working day etc. There are legal and penal provisions
like fine and imprisonment against the defaulting employers.
This information
was given by the Minister of State for Labour Shri Vijay Goel
in the Lok Sabha today.
